Black-painted slats in different widths and thicknesses create uneven ridges on the walls of this lakeside house in a Finnish pine forest (+ slideshow). More about Forest home by Sanaksenaho Architects features black walls and a bean-shaped roof
John Pawson has applied his pared-back architectural style to a range of furniture with trestle-style supports. More about John Pawson's minimal oak furniture sits on chunky angled legs
Comoco Architects has added a third new structure to the grounds of the medieval Pombal Castle in Portugal – a limestone-clad visitor centre that doubles as a viewing platform (+ slideshow). More about Pombal Castle visitor centre offers a peek through a historic stone wall
Inside Festival: Tony Materne of MPH Architects explains how the Australian firm created a huge construction training facility "within the existing envelope" of a former Adelaide car plant (+ movie). More about MPH Architects transforms "magnificent" former car factory into education centre
Interview: ahead of his talk at London's V&A museum on Friday, typographer Vincent Connare has defended the reviled Comic Sans font he created, saying its detractors "don't know anything about design". More about "People who don't like Comic Sans don't know anything about design"
Opinion: mobile products have a short lifespan, but Apple has invested heavily in turning them into desirable design objects. For some "luxury" customers that just isn't enough, finds Alex Wiltshire. More about "Even obsolescence is worthy of incredible expense"
A lakeside sauna in Toronto (pictured), cars for fish and a concept for underwater cities feature in Dezeen Mail issue 230. Click through for all the latest news, jobs and reader comments from Dezeen.
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Snøhetta used the Norse myth of creation as a starting point for the design of this fashion and lifestyle store in Oslo, which uses sculpted wood and blackened metal to suggest areas of fire and ice. More about Oslo boutique by Snøhetta reinterprets the Scandinavian story of creation
After being instructed not to design a "white box minimalist house", MAC Interactive Architects specified weathered timber boards for the exterior of this narrow Sydney residence (+ slideshow). More about Stirling House is a Sydney home clad with rough timber boards
News: financial fiascos and political problems have caused 50 skyscrapers taller than 150 metres to be started and never finished, according to industry experts. More about Fifty of the world's tallest unfinished skyscrapers will "never complete"
Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with London furniture brand H to give readers the chance to win one of three elastic woven Loom Chairs in celebration of the brand's online shop launch. More about Competition: three Loom Collection chairs by H to be won
This kit launched by Belgian designer Laurence Humier includes sets of containers filled with materials that children can mix together to learn simple chemical reactions. More about Laurence Humier's Alchemist Matter Kit teaches children basic chemistry
News: Danish architecture studio EFFEKT has triumphed in a competition to design a street sports facility in and around a crumbling train engine roundhouse in Esbjerg, south-west Denmark (+ slideshow). More about EFFEKT to transform abandoned train engine depot into street sports centre
A bank of cherry blossoms are mirrored in the reflective gables of this cafe that angles around a smaller tree in Gifu, Japan, by architecture studio Bandesign (+ slideshow). More about Bandesign clads a Japanese cafe in mirrors to reflect a row of cherry trees
Stockholm design studio Claesson Koivisto Rune has created a set of three huge cone-shaped lamps for Swedish lighting brand Wästberg. More about Claesson Koivisto Rune designs giant conical pendant lamps for Wästberg
Behind the burnt-timber exterior of this sauna by Canadian studio Partisans is a cavernous cedar interior that emulates the form of a seaside grotto (+ slideshow). More about Lakeside sauna by Partisans designed as a cavernous wooden grotto
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of products by Swiss brand Vitra to celebrate the company's American ties (+ slideshow). More about Vitra retrospective goes on show in Philadelphia
Inside Festival 2014: Hong Kong architect Joyce Wang explains how she incorporated her client's "love for metals" into the interior of a luxury Shanghai penthouse (+ movie). More about Xintiandi Penthouse by Joyce Wang is "a celebration of metal"
Global design consultancy IDEO has developed a series of concept vehicles that imagine how autonomous vehicles could transform the way we work, shop and travel (+ movie). More about IDEO envisions a future where self-driving workplaces commute to you
News: Frank Gehry has written an open letter defending the design for the George Lucas Museum by Chinese architecture firm MAD, as a legal wrangle threatens to delay the project. More about Frank Gehry defends MAD's Lucas Museum for Chicago as judge suspends work